SIDELINES: OBSTRUCTED VIEWS

SIDELINES: OBSTRUCTED VIEWS; Buy Me Some Peanuts . . . and That's It

By WILLIAM N. WALLACE

Published: May 18, 1992

Correction Appended

Team executives have been blaming the cold spring weather across most of the country for major league baseball's drop in attendance so far this season, a dip of about 3 percent.

Another reason, however, could be the ever-rising cost forof a family of four to attend a game, now averaging $85.85. That figure comes from a survey by Team Marketing Report, a Chicago-based sports business publication, and it is 10 percent higher than last year. Why? A 12.3 percent rise in food and souvenirs, a 7.7 percent hike in ticket prices, all while the recession continues.

The cheapest one-day, four-person outing, $72.28, is inat Cincinnati; the most expensive is in Toronto, $112.83 (in United States dollarsmoney). Those figures include the prices of four seats, two beers, four hot dogs, four soft drinks, two souvenir caps, two programs and parking.

Correction: May 21, 1992, Thursday The Sidelines column in SportsMonday this week misstated a comparison of attendance figures for major league baseball. Total attendance through last Sunday's games was 2.1 percent higher than the corresponding total for 1991.